The President vs. the Senate

Now the Supreme Court will weigh in on Obama's power play to stock the National Labor Relations Board.

By

David B. Rivkin Jr. And

Lee A. Casey

Jan. 2, 2014 7:16 p.m. ET

Later this month the Supreme Court will hear a case that should resolve how much latitude presidents have to make recess appointments to federal offices that otherwise require Senate confirmation. The boundary of this power has never been decided by the high court. Yet the entire scheme of the U.S. Constitution—which is based on a separation of powers, enforced through checks and balances to safeguard individual liberty—is at stake.

Noel Canning v. NLRB involves several recess appointments President Obama made to the...